Friday, August 10, 2012

360 Backtrack Part 4: Sesame Street Once Upon a Monster for the Xbox360 Kinect review

Hello, and welcome
to another installment of the 360 Backtrack. I am about to lose all of my
dignity as a man and say I really liked this game based off of Sesame Street.
It is amazing since this is based off an educational television series that has
been going on for over 40 years now. That is unbelievable, but hey, it’s still
a popular kid’s show. Heck, I watched it when I was a kid and it was basically
the first show I ever watched, next to Thomas the Tank Engine. Anyway, let’s
move into my next topic, Double Fine productions. I think this company and
Twisted Pixel are the new Rare, due to their creative and great games and
stylized sense of humor. However, this review focuses on Double Fine, one of my
favorite companies of all time. I love their games like Psychonaughts and
Brutal Legend, which happen to be two of my favorite games of all time. This
review will focus on their most recent game and their first licensed game,
Sesame Street Once Upon a Monster for the Xbox360 Kinect. When I first heard
about this, I had some concerns and I didn’t really think it would work out due
to the lukewarm reception to the Kinect line-up that it has right now.
Basically, the only games you could and would want to get for the Kinect were
Dance Central, Kinectimals, and Gunstringer. Good news for you all with little
kids and a Kinect, you should get this game! It is actually not bad. Once
again, Double Fine does a great job bringing us a creative license game.

The story is set
around Elmo and Cookie Monster, who bump into each other one day. Elmo was
carrying a couple of books and Cookie Monster recognizes one of the books
called, “Once Upon a Monster”. They then get pulled into the book and have to
help a bunch of monsters solve their problems and basically save the day. It’s
a lighthearted tale, but for a 22-year-old, I felt pulled in even if the
characters and storytelling was simplistic. It isn’t a very deep or dark game,
but then again, that would be very messed up for a Sesame Street game.

The gameplay in
this game is, of course, a set of mini-games. I am not surprised since this is
a Kinect and it was usually made for casual gamers and families. Each chapter
is set around a specific original monster that has a problem that needs the
help of Cookie Monster and Elmo. There are multiple missions like help one
monster get a better birthday party, help a monster become more brave, help a
monster regrow her garden, and even help a monster tell stories at the end of
the game. There are different scenarios, and a lot of the mini-games will
repeat through these chapters, but there is enough variety to where there isn’t
the tedious feeling of repetition.You
can play by yourself, but it’s great there is a two-player option since the
movements and controls are simple and easy to grasp. You will be doing a lot of
dancing, jumping, raising your legs up, spinning around, using the Kinect
microphone to speak, and a lot of simple movements that shows this game was
made for kids, but can be enjoyed by a guy or girl in their 20’s. This whole
game will take about 10 hours or so and is really meant to be played in bursts
instead of straight through. There are also unlockables like videos of Tim
Schaeffer himself talking about the game and other videos.

The graphics are
beautiful. They remind me of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat due to the great detail
put onto the Sesame Street characters and new monster’s fur. The world is
colorful, detailed, and fun to look at. The performances by our puppet friends
are great and the humor is actually pretty funny. Then again, if there is
anyone that can make the humor in a Sesame Street game funny to a guy in his
20’s, it’s Double Fine productions. The music is great also with a mostly happy
soundtrack. It’s very calming and is only energetic when you need it. I’m happy
about this since this is how a kid’s show or game is done right in the
presentation department. Don’t make it loud and obnoxious all the time. The
world is creative looking, but it isn’t extremely over-the-top nor is it
safe-looking. Once again, Double Fine gives us a creative and well-put together
presentation.

However, there are
just a few minor complaints. I had some control issues with some of the
mini-games due to them not really feeling responsive. The only times I had
issues like this were with the watering mini-games. Other than that, the
controls were responsive and simple for kids to learn. I also kind of wish
there were more old Sesame Street characters instead of just Grover and Oscar.
Then again, that is probably my inner child talking since this show is close to
me.

Overall though,
this is one of the better Kinect games alongside Gunstringer (seriously, if you
have a Kinect, buy Gunstringer!). I know it’s weird for someone like me who’s
second favorite game of all time is God of War 3, a very violent game, saying
that this is a great game. However, you should really check this game out
yourself. It is extremely solid and is perfect for young kids. If you have
young kids or love Double Fine games, then I see no better game to get for your
Kinect than Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster.